Editorial: #FakeNews has a comfortable home on social media
By Brandi Makuski
Some of the biggest problems facing community news outlets are both solved and caused by social media, Facebook in particular.
It provides smaller news outlets with ample opportunity to distribute our stories at no (or low) cost, which is a positive element. It also gives reporters a sense of the community’s mindset, another major benefit.
In many cases, it has also replaced the standard press release, leaving some media in the dark about upcoming events or recent happenings, and forcing reporters to compete with social media—and sometimes get into the game late. That’s counterproductive to a healthy news scene and bad for everyone in the community.
The latter bit aside, are the problems created via social media greater than any it solves?
Enormous struggles arise for local news outlets thanks to social media, even in the comment section of our own stories. Already strapped for resources, community news outlets become responsible for policing comments which contain false information, threats, vulgarity or other inappropriate material. In essence, we’re being forced by someone’s imprudence or irresponsibility to censor.
Hardly a natural force for a group of people whose job is based on Freedom of Speech.
Even greater problems arise on some community-geared Facebook groups. Without thinking, someone sounds the alarm for every nosey person in the area by posting to these pages every time they hear a siren or see a firetruck respond somewhere in the community.
This brings out the gawkers, who report on hyperbole and rumor, and without any context, via Facebook, and also create safety concerns at the scene of emergencies. Remember when a submerged vehicle was found in the Wisconsin River at Bukolt Park last year? There were dozens of onlookers putting the whole event live on Facebook video before anyone knew whether the vehicle contained a dead body (thankfully, it did not).
People also make wild claims and accusations on Facebook. We’ve all seen Facebook posts from people who, bypassing law enforcement entirely, post videos or photos of alleged crimes. Folks post photos of someone’s vehicle, claiming this individual almost struck their car/kid/pet/etc. Worse yet, some post photos of a person’s face and accuse them of committing a crime.
No real evidence is presented, no opportunity for rebuttal, no legal process. Straight to conviction by mob.
Then come the would-be reporters: people who take one tiny sliver of information, decline to verify its authenticity or contextual meaning, and start a wildfire on social media by insisting their claims happened to someone they know.
That’s where the real damage is done.
It’s doubtful anyone realizes how much needless work these actions force upon the media, local law enforcement, or municipal officials, as all three groups rush to quell concerns and address bad information. And that’s something that needs to change.
Administrators and moderators need to be held accountable for what’s on these social media group pages. You wanna talk about #FakeNews, THAT’S where it starts.